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Anembo Farm Berowra
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PhotographerR. DonaldsonDetailsThe Anembo Research Farm bordered the Pacific Highway and south Yallambee Road. It was a very professionally run farm with a wide variety of activities, focusing mainly on breeding high quality Rhode Island Red poultry and Swiss mountain goats, a breed known as “Saanen”.
The Anembo Research Farm was established, owned and run by Hugh James who was a WW1 British navy veteran. Serving as an Admiral’s Secretary. After the War he worked on ships making his way out to Australia. After a year of establishing himself in his adopted land he sent for his fiancé, Ellen, and her son, Stan, to join him from England (Stan was born from Ellen’s first marriage to a British soldier killed in France). James met them at the docks and they literally went directly to the Church where he married Ellen.
By 1942 “Anembo” had 2,000 free-range Rhode Island Reds in 50 pens, each pen having a spacious 5,000 to 10,000 square feet. This breed of poultry is known for its excellent egg laying ability with each bird producing 4 to 6 eggs weekly, ranging in size from medium to large. The breed is cold climate hardy, as well as having plenty of meat as an eating bird. Hugh James was not very interested in producing eggs commercially, his main focus was on developing improved poultry nutrition and selling day old chicks, from his superior bred birds, to a market that could afford to pay top dollar. He was also extremely focused on keeping his property disease free as this was something that was devastating many other poultry farms, including most of those in Berowra.
Several of Anembo’s best Rhode Island Reds were entered in shows, including the Royal Easter Show where, in 1940, James’ birds won “First” and “Champion” in their categories.
The farm also had two orchards planted, a mixed fruit orchard for the house, and a large grove of lemon trees which produced citrus for market. These trees were planted amongst the chicken runs for mutual benefit.
The farm was later known as “Anembo Nursery”, and many plants were commercially grown with chrysanthemum flowers as one of the specialities. In addition, there was a large production of herbs with an assembly line set up to produce and pack Mayana (a digestive powder). Other medicines produced included melasol and ti-trol (tea tree oil products), but these were eventually superseded by Dettol. All this time Hugh James worked as an accountant in Sydney leaving his wife, Ellen, to run the operations on farm with a variety of workers.
Hugh James was a very interesting character, always trying something innovative, often during very challenging periods and conditions. These periods included the Great Depression, outbreaks of crippling poultry diseases that badly affected nearly every other farm, and right through WW2. In 1940 he even helped start a NSW poultry farmers union, of sorts, with 80 NSW farmers immediately signing up (he was a founding member and the Secretary). The formation of this group helped the dwindling poultry farming industry have their issues heard, and then actively supported by Government of the day.
One of the few visionary ideas that he did not manage to implement, was his plan to set up a sanatorium further down Yallambee Road. However, James did go on to become a qualified herbalist and osteopath and was always very interested in the medicinal value of native Australian plants. In those early years the Anembo/Yallambee area was a well-known location for the prolific production of a wide variety of native wild flowers including Waratahs, Native roses, Orchids,Flannel flowers, Christmas bushes, Christmas bells and several species of Boronia, to name a few.
Around 1960 Hugh James and his wife relocated from Anembo in Berowra to a nine acre property at Glenhaven where they built another house which was an exact replica of the original Berowra farmhouse. He also named the Glenhaven house “Anembo”, once again transferring the name to his new house.
Hugh James died from inoperable skin cancer in 1966. His wife, Ellen James, moved back to their house at Berowra and she died there in February 1975, aged 86.Date takenJanuary 30 1941LocationBerowraGeotag[1] KeywordsHugh JamesBerowraFarmHerbsPoultryGoats
The Anembo Research Farm was established, owned and run by Hugh James who was a WW1 British navy veteran. Serving as an Admiral’s Secretary. After the War he worked on ships making his way out to Australia. After a year of establishing himself in his adopted land he sent for his fiancé, Ellen, and her son, Stan, to join him from England (Stan was born from Ellen’s first marriage to a British soldier killed in France). James met them at the docks and they literally went directly to the Church where he married Ellen.
By 1942 “Anembo” had 2,000 free-range Rhode Island Reds in 50 pens, each pen having a spacious 5,000 to 10,000 square feet. This breed of poultry is known for its excellent egg laying ability with each bird producing 4 to 6 eggs weekly, ranging in size from medium to large. The breed is cold climate hardy, as well as having plenty of meat as an eating bird. Hugh James was not very interested in producing eggs commercially, his main focus was on developing improved poultry nutrition and selling day old chicks, from his superior bred birds, to a market that could afford to pay top dollar. He was also extremely focused on keeping his property disease free as this was something that was devastating many other poultry farms, including most of those in Berowra.
Several of Anembo’s best Rhode Island Reds were entered in shows, including the Royal Easter Show where, in 1940, James’ birds won “First” and “Champion” in their categories.
The farm also had two orchards planted, a mixed fruit orchard for the house, and a large grove of lemon trees which produced citrus for market. These trees were planted amongst the chicken runs for mutual benefit.
The farm was later known as “Anembo Nursery”, and many plants were commercially grown with chrysanthemum flowers as one of the specialities. In addition, there was a large production of herbs with an assembly line set up to produce and pack Mayana (a digestive powder). Other medicines produced included melasol and ti-trol (tea tree oil products), but these were eventually superseded by Dettol. All this time Hugh James worked as an accountant in Sydney leaving his wife, Ellen, to run the operations on farm with a variety of workers.
Hugh James was a very interesting character, always trying something innovative, often during very challenging periods and conditions. These periods included the Great Depression, outbreaks of crippling poultry diseases that badly affected nearly every other farm, and right through WW2. In 1940 he even helped start a NSW poultry farmers union, of sorts, with 80 NSW farmers immediately signing up (he was a founding member and the Secretary). The formation of this group helped the dwindling poultry farming industry have their issues heard, and then actively supported by Government of the day.
One of the few visionary ideas that he did not manage to implement, was his plan to set up a sanatorium further down Yallambee Road. However, James did go on to become a qualified herbalist and osteopath and was always very interested in the medicinal value of native Australian plants. In those early years the Anembo/Yallambee area was a well-known location for the prolific production of a wide variety of native wild flowers including Waratahs, Native roses, Orchids,Flannel flowers, Christmas bushes, Christmas bells and several species of Boronia, to name a few.
Around 1960 Hugh James and his wife relocated from Anembo in Berowra to a nine acre property at Glenhaven where they built another house which was an exact replica of the original Berowra farmhouse. He also named the Glenhaven house “Anembo”, once again transferring the name to his new house.
Hugh James died from inoperable skin cancer in 1966. His wife, Ellen James, moved back to their house at Berowra and she died there in February 1975, aged 86.Date takenJanuary 30 1941LocationBerowraGeotag[1] KeywordsHugh JamesBerowraFarmHerbsPoultryGoats
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FormatDigital images only heldPublisherACPSourceMitchell Library
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Anembo Farm Berowra. Hornsby Shire, accessed 28/03/2025, https://hornsbyshire.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/6904